Unexpected Changes
by Habeous Corpus
Summary: Jisbon story. A few changes are made at the CBI... Alas, it sucks. the summary, not the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Unexpected Changes**

Lisbon sat quietly in her office. Paperwork was piled all over the place, but she hardly noticed. She kept thinking back to eight weeks ago, when Patrick saved her life. When she heard that gunshot, Lisbon expected pain. Instead, she saw Jane with a rifle, and him throwing it down a few seconds later. (Which wasn't the smartest thing; it could have gone off again. Freshly fired guns are dangerous.)

Anyway, afterwards, they had tried to go back to a normal work relationship. But something had changed between them. Something was not the same. At least, Lisbon thought so. Jane didn't treat her any differently. Still, something had to be done.

Lisbon stepped out of her office, and looked into the bullpen. Jane was alone and asleep, and the rest of the team was off doing God-knows-what. Normally, she would have been dismayed; Jane is dangerous when idle. However, this time, she welcomed the solitude. She walked over to the old leather couch. "Jane?" No response. "Jane!" She still had no reaction. Lisbon sighed and contemplated his sleeping figure. Beautiful…

_Wait, wait, wait… Focus! You are here to talk, not to swoon, _she told herself. Jane still was not awake, but a knee to the ribs would fix that.

"Ohh! Woman, what is your problem?" Worked like a charm.

"I have to talk to you," she told him while mentally cursing herself for getting into this. This was going to be awkward.

"Then talk. Don't drive your knee into my ribs," he teased.

"All right." Lisbon took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "When you shot Hardy—two months ago, something changed."

"And that something is?"

"I don't know. But we've changed. It was a major turning point for us. And…"

"Are we in a relationship or something?" The glint is his eye told her that he was restraining laughter. Then he was instantly serious. "I know what you mean. I've noticed it too. You've finally realized that you care about me."

"What?"

"You care about me."

Lisbon had to fight a blush. "No, I don't."

"Well, then why would you do that?"

"Do what?" Then she heard Cho's voice.

"I'm with her, Jane. Do what?"

"I might be able to go with you guys during suspect apprehensions. No more waiting at the car!" Jane looked like a little kid.

Lisbon was faced with a decision. Tell the team, who was now standing in the doorway, the (awkward) truth, or give in to his demand. God, that man was cleverly infuriating. And arrogant to boot! Still, she loved to be around him…

"That's right. Even though he won't carry officially, we'll carry an extra gun in the cruiser, maybe." Note to self: Steal the office's supply of tea, and maybe the kettle, too.

Van Pelt looked surprised. "Oh, well… That's great!" Always courteous, that one. In a striking contrast to Jane, that little nit. However, Lisbon had to admit that he had his sweet moments. Who else would buy a pony for his boss? She looked down at him. He was asleep, no shocker there. Nonetheless, Jane had a content smile for once. Oh, well. He _was_ good to have around…

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**A/N—Well, there it is. It really has been eight weeks since the finale. *cries* Can't wait for the new season. (BTW: Check out the Wikipedia Article on The Mentalist. There is a character synopsis that should be news to some people… ;) )**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N—So, big shout out to kathiann, who inspired this, and the next two chapters. [*] = kathiann's star for awesomeness**

**Chapter Two**

Lisbon was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And an even harder-headed consultant. Sometimes you just can't win for losing. They were going to pick up a hardened criminal that Jane had deduced as their murderer. Jane, in his "infinite wisdom," had figured it out by how a flower vase was arranged. Lisbon had just rolled her eyes. You can't make this stuff up! Maybe she should sell this craziness to television writers; they might be able to put something together with it…

Anyway, Jane had been insufferable, because he had been right, yet again. However, this time, Lisbon would not have the satisfaction of telling Jane to wait in the car like a two year old.

As they pulled up to the house, Lisbon gave Jane a warning. "If you screw up and die, it's your fault. Jane just gave her a blinding grin, and Lisbon had to suppress a smile of her own. She stepped out of the car, and started giving orders. "Van Pelt, Cho, go around the back. Rigsby, you're with Jane and I. We'll take the front. Once we're inside, Rigsby, Jane and I will take the ground floor. You two will take the upstairs," she commanded. Everyone nodded and fanned out. Jane drew his pocket knife, and the trio advanced. There was no response at the door, so Jane had to pick it. He opened the door, and they advanced in. After scoping out the bottom floor, they heard a scuffling from above. Obviously, Van Pelt and Cho were having a bit of trouble. The two agents dashed up the stairs, leaving Jane at the bottom. Louder scuffling ensued, and then there were shouts. The suspect pounded down the flight of stairs, right into Jane.

The consultant was knocked to the ground, and his knife skidded away from him. Instantly, Cho grabbed and cuffed the little bugger. Man, those agents could move fast!

Van Pelt helped Jane to his feet. "Nice tackle. For a consultant."

"Uhh… Thanks?"

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Back at the bullpen, Lisbon told Jane that he had done a fine job. With out him, they would've had an epic fail. Jane had almost taken the opportunity to rub it in, but he had just gone to make a cup of tea, and gave her one of his blinding smiles.

Which left Lisbon alone with her mind, in her office. And her mind kept whispering, "Admit it. You enjoyed having him here. And he was useful, too. Wasn't he?"

And she had to reply, "Yes, he was."

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**You know, I can't remember the last time I wrote a one-shot and just left it. Oh, well, multi-chaptered fics RULE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N—I just rewatched an episode, and realized that the unit is called **_**Homicide and Serious Crimes**_**, according to Lisbon. But I'm sticking with Special Cases. :D**

**Chapter Three**

The CBI Special Cases Unit was once again hard at work, doing what they did best: taking names and kicking butt. Lisbon kicked down the door to the murderer's lair. They had good reason to believe that she was in there right now with her next victim. Her victim base consisted of clean-cut males, usually single.

Cho and Rigsby cautiously stepped through the doorway, guns at the ready.

"Take the upstairs. Jane and I will be downstairs." The two agents under her command nodded, and headed upstairs. Jane and Lisbon started working their way through rooms.

"Lisbon. This rug has been majorly disturbed within the last week," Jane called.

Lisbon came to him. "Okay, Einstein, what does that tell us?"

"It tells us," he drew back the rug with a flourish, "that there is a trapdoor under here." Sure enough, there was a metal door set into the floor.

"Nice."

"I do try, my dear." He lifted the door. "After you." As soon as they stepped down into the dank darkness, they heard voices. A sharp female and a weak male, to their right. Lisbon took out her flashlight, and started to probe around. There was a door way, and they could see light coming from a bend in the subterranean tunnel. Then a hoarse scream jolted the two agents into action. They barreled into the tiny room, and started the hostage negotiation process.

The room was small, and the walls were an earthen brown. Their suspicions were correct; a man was tied to a chair, bleeding profusely. "Ms. Blagon, put the knife down," Lisbon commanded, cool as ice. Instead, Blagon bolted over to where Jane was standing. Lisbon tried to shoot her, but missed. Blagon pressed the knife to Jane's throat, and used him as a shield.

"He'll do. Handsome enough, wouldn't you say?" Blagon growled with crazy look in her eyes. Lisbon mentally kicked herself, realizing Jane fit the victimology.

Lisbon didn't think about what she did next. She barreled towards the murderer, and threw them to the ground. Lisbon tried to rip the knife from Blagon's hands, but did not succeed. Instead, Blagon took the opportunity of her failed attempt and stabbed her in the arm, beyond the protection of the bulletproof vest. Blagon jumped up, hit Jane with a roundhouse kick, and fled. Jane shook himself off, and saw Lisbon.

"Lisbon! Theresa! Stay with me."

Lisbon looked up at Jane. She reached up to touch the thin line of blood forming at his throat. "You're bleeding." Then she passed out.

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**Cliffy! Bad Habeous, I know. But there's another chapter coming up. **

**Hopefully the fact that there are only 26 (!) more days to the Mentalist premiere dispels the darkness of back-to-school. :P (24 if you're Canadian, lucky buggers.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N—Okay, I got right to work on this because y'all were begging me. You owe me! :P (P.S- You can pretend you're the doctor.)**

**Chapter Four**

"Mr. Jane, you cannot go in! Agent Lisbon has just finished surgery," the doctor argued. She was losing.

Jane regarded the doctor. She seemed lonely and heartbroken, as if a friend had left her. There might be an angle. He took the doctor's hand, and wrapped his arm around her waist protectively. "How about we go to her room together, so you won't have to do it alone." The doctor was stunned into silence, and she allowed Jane to lead her to Lisbon's room. Jane couldn't help but think that he was too skilled for his own good.

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When he entered the hospital room, Lisbon was still sleeping off the anesthetic. He quietly pulled a chair up to the bed, and took her rough hand in his. He had spent the last four hours worrying himself sick. Jane's mind kept going around in circles, throwing out worst-case scenarios to torture him. He had imagined everything from her death (severing an artery and losing too much blood), to amputation (an infection that they couldn't treat), to never being able to fire a gun again (a severed muscle never rejoining properly). Now she was here in front of him, almost whole again. It was almost too much for him to believe.

Jane began tracing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. It was oddly comforting, and it made him lose track of time.

"You're going to wear a hole in my hand," Lisbon teased. She had awoken, and was fully alert. "I'm glad you came."

Jane smiled slightly. "I'm going to stay out of the field from now on. I could have gotten you killed. The doctors said that 'Psycho-chick' nicked an artery."

"Actually, if you hadn't been there, I would have had to take her on by myself. And I just may have lost—"

"—it was unlikely—"

"—but it could have happened. And that's another reason why I allowed you to come along. An extra pair of hands is always useful."

"They were also _my_ hands."

Lisbon was ready to rebuke him, when she thought better of it. "You're right. I enjoyed having you around. However, I have to admit: there's a certain satisfaction in taking you down a peg by making you stay in the car." Jane couldn't repress his smile.

"So…" he started.

"So let's make the best of this."

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***takes deep breath* FIN!!!!!!! Thanks kathiann. Owe you!**


End file.
